Tasmania WW2 Military and Censored Mail

[torstenweller]

Below is a scan of a YMCA cover sent by a serviceman in April 1941 with a QE1d green single franking tied TARRALEAH / TAS. datestamp paying the Defence Forces concessional letter rate and with a blue boxed SOLDIER'S LETTER / BRIGHTON CAMP cachet alongside to identify it as entitled to pay this concessional rate. This item was sent from Tarraleah, some 100kms north of Brighton, presumably while the serviceman was on leave, the cachet having been applied to the cover before he received it. Most such items have a standard "Department of the Army / Concession Postal Rate" cachet which was used throughout Australia, such as the one on the cover in the second scan which was sent from Brighton Military Camp in October 1941 with a QE 1d green tied MIL.P.O. BRIGHTON datestamp.





So here are my questions:

1. why did Brighton Military Camp make up its own Concession handstamp?

2. is this cachet seen frequently? [a quick Google search did not locate anything similar shown on the web]

3. did this cachet continue in use concurrently with the standard "Department of the Army / Concession Postal Rate" cachet?

4. was the first cover entitled to be sent at the concessional rate given the serviceman was presumably "on leave" and not "on active service" at the time?

looking forward to your comments

[admin]

Torsten
I have a little information I can share but I am not able to provide anything conclusive.
I have a few covers with the Brighton Camp CDS but all have the standard 'Department of the Army Concessional Postal Rate Cachet in blue. I have not seen the 'Brighton Camp' cachet and do not know why it was used. Given I have been searching for this sort of mail for a few years now, I am inclined to say the "Soldiers Letter/ Brighton Camp Cachet" is at the least not common.
4. My understanding of eligibility for the concessional rate is what it would not matter if the Services member was on leave or not, as the Regulation states the concession rates applied to "... Mail either addressed to or posted by Australian Troops within and beyond Australia". Short periods of leave would not exclude eligibility.
I have seen other examples of mail from troops clearly on leave with the concessional rates applied.

The Taraleah date stamp is more of a puzzzle. Its clear that in the early years of World War II "Smaller army activities dotted the state, for example at Launceston, Conara, Campbell Town, Glenorchy (Dowsings Point), South Arm (Fort Direction) and Kingston" but I have not heard that Tarraleah was such a venue. However, my guess is that there is a possibility of Military training or exercises at the Hydro settlement at Taraleah and that the Military Postal unit from Brighton either issued some pre-marked envelopes for use by the troops or was present and issued concession envelopes. Or perhaps the soldier was on leave and used a pre-marked envelope whist at Taraleah. I can see some possible references in google to Military training at Tarraleah but they are buried in very large documents.
For what its worth, there was a serious fire at Tarraleah on 21 April 1941. Perhaps some of the troops at Brighton were called upon to assist, especially as the Hydro Electric facilities there would be strategically very important to Tasmania ( a bit of a long shot...).
I suspect definitive details may be elusive but hopefully others can add further information.
Pete

[John Hardinge]

I have seen the datestamp before. It is quite scarce. It was used only on mail that was posted by servicemen elsewhere in the state and then sent on to the desired destination via Brighton.

The army, as Peter has noted, had many small train8ng facilities, Pearsons Point, Campania, Elphin, Western Junction, Low Head and Kingston being others I can think of. Tarraleah was used for alpine training and conditioning.

[Ross Ewington]

I have seen the datestamp before.

Do you mean 'handstamp' rather than 'datestamp' ...... I think the MIL PO BRIGHTON and TARRALEAH cds are fairly common.